Statement of the Diocese of Madison, regarding coverage of the delicate situation in Platteville, in the Wisconsin State Journal

This past weekend, the Wisconsin State Journal chose to run a story on the sad events surrounding the closing of St. Mary’s School in Platteville.

Instead of reporting the facts as they are, the State Journal opted to turn one of the expressed reasons of Bishop Robert C. Morlino’s letter (that of “In charity and in justice, I must caution you most strongly that this cannot continue. I do this now in sincere hopes of avoiding the issuance of Canonical warnings [or penalties]”) into the exact opposite and the basis for their entire story.

The corresponding headline falsely reads “Bishop Morlino warns dissenters to stop — or else,” when no warning was given. Rather, his was an appeal to reasonable Christian charity, in a sincere attempt to avoid that very thing.

This careless and scurrilous misrepresentation of the bishop’s communication is only the latest in a series of stories that seek further to divide the Catholic Church, which it has done, in a seemingly systematic and consistent way, since Bishop Morlino’s arrival, almost nine years ago and even before.

Through distorting the truth, impugning the faith, and undermining the authority of the Church, the Wisconsin State Journal has succeeded in fostering needless discord among the faithful. The present occurrence is certainly among the most outrageous, when the opposite of the bishop’s intent was reported.

Why would one not conclude that the Wisconsin State Journal is anti-Catholic?